Big Bear

[tellico4x4]

At my buddies place last night in NW Florida. He's been covered up with them for several years now.

 

[Wrangler95]

Big one!!

 

[DoubleRidge]

That has got to be considered a big black bear for that area! Wow!

 

[J.A.F.O.]

Now that's a hefty one.

 

[flbirdwatcher1961]

That has got to be considered a big black bear for that area! Wow!

Bears are "sexually dimorphic," which means that adult males are larger than adult females. However, because young, smaller males are similar in size to adult females, it is difficult to determine the sex of a bear by their size alone.

Many of us recognize that white-tailed deer body size is reduced as you travel south in North America. This difference is explained by Bergmann's Rule, which basically states species of larger size are found in colder environments, and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions. Bears as a Family follow this principle – arctic male polar bears generally weigh 779 to 1500 pounds, while male sun bears only weigh 100 to 140 pounds and live in equatorial regions. Black bears as a Species do not follow Bergmann's Rule, Florida black bears on average tend to be larger than Canadian black bears, for example.

Average weights for adult bears in Florida range from 250 to 450 pounds for males and 125 to 250 pounds for females.

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/facts/biology/

 

[DoubleRidge]

Bears are "sexually dimorphic," which means that adult males are larger than adult females. However, because young, smaller males are similar in size to adult females, it is difficult to determine the sex of a bear by their size alone.

Many of us recognize that white-tailed deer body size is reduced as you travel south in North America. This difference is explained by Bergmann's Rule, which basically states species of larger size are found in colder environments, and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions. Bears as a Family follow this principle – arctic male polar bears generally weigh 779 to 1500 pounds, while male sun bears only weigh 100 to 140 pounds and live in equatorial regions. Black bears as a Species do not follow Bergmann's Rule, Florida black bears on average tend to be larger than Canadian black bears, for example.

Average weights for adult bears in Florida range from 250 to 450 pounds for males and 125 to 250 pounds for females.

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/facts/biology/

Interesting....so this explains why North Carolinas coastal black bears are some of the largest on the planet.

 

[Harold Money jr]

I've always thought how miserable it would be to be a bear in the Florida heat and mosquitoes!! Much less one that big and fat!

 

[tickweed]

Interesting....so this explains why North Carolinas coastal black bears are some of the largest on the planet.

Prince of wales has probably the largest blacks. And no doubt most Boone and Crockett entries in the world.

 

[Huntaholic]

Except for the face area, bears arent bothered too bad by mosquitos.

 

[tellico4x4]

Prince of wales has probably the largest blacks. And no doubt most Boone and Crockett entries in the world.

POW 7' bear my grandson killed when he was 11, bear tooth aged to be 11 as well! Scored 21 3/16"

 

[tickweed]

POW 7' bear my grandson killed when he was 11, bear tooth aged to be 11 as well! Scored 21 3/16"

View attachment 234748

Booner. Nice!

 

[Darkthirty II]

Interesting....so this explains why North Carolinas coastal black bears are some of the largest on the planet.

The reason Nirth Carolina's black bears are literally the biggest in the world is because 1.they normally do not hibernate and if they do, it's for brief periods where they're not burning hardly any of their fat reserves and 2. Immense agricultural, not just grains but there's huge hog and turkey farms.
It'd blow your mind how many B&C bears are killed every year in eastern NC that are never even measured because a lot of dog guys couldn't care any less about a score and/or they were shot in the head.